Monday, September 17, 2007

Did you know that the above statement is boldly pronounced on a monument within the Islamic mosque located on the Dome of the Rock where the Jews formerly worshiped God in their temple? This fact alone made Joel Richardson’s (pen name to hide his true identity) book, Antichrist: Islam’s Awaited Messiah, worth reading, in my opinion.

He approaches the subject of the end times with the view that there is a very good chance that Islam will be the main player, from the covenant to the Antichrist to Armageddon. He shows the parallels that Islam shares with Christianity when it comes to the end of the world. But there’s a twist. These paralles are more like polar opposites.

Not only does much of Islam see their Mahdi, their awaited messiah, as one who will rule the world politically, militarily and religiously, they believe he will confirm a covenant with Israel for seven years and will offer Jews and Christians a chance to follow Islam and live. Those that refuse will be killed. Starting to sound familiar yet?

The Mahdi’s sidekick will be Jesus. Not your Jesus, though. This Islamic Jesus will come and convince many that the first century Jesus was a liar, and he will behead those that cling to their Christian faith by refusing to reject Christ. Richardson ties the Muslim Jesus to what we understand to be the false prophet in Revelation chapter 13.

The Dajjal is what the Muslim’s view as the Antichrist, and coincidentally, the Dajjal is actually our Jesus. But not to worry (insert sarcasm), the Islamic Jesus will destroy Him by his great power proving that our Jesus Christ was not who He claimed to be.

The only scriptural disagreement that I had that comes to mind was with his interpretation of the 7th and 8th kings of Revelation 17:10, and his thoughts on the revived Roman empire. Though I am not a fan of the label (revived Roman empire) I do see a biblical connection of the final beast empire to the sixth beast empire, Rome. What this connection means, though, I’m undecided and refuse to commit myself to a conclusion.

Richardson did a great job interpreting scripture and presented just about every passage in way that made me feel that we are likeminded individuals with a common force driving us. I’m not ready to commit to this idea that Richardson lays forth, but I believe that Antichrist: Islam’s Awaited Messiah is a book that every follower of Christ should consider reading because of the times we live in, and in order to understand the satanic enemy that we are dealing with. They hate America, Jews, Christians and the one true God, Jesus Christ.

14 comments:

Raul Delgado
said...

Dave,I'm glad you brought that up. Others on the net are considering the same things that you say Joel Richardson discusses and proposes in the book. I have become so accustomed to hearing the traditional beliefs of who the anti-christ will be and where he will arise, that we readily say that he will be European and will lead the EU or at least the Western half of it. But, for the moment, I think that it's worth considering a whole new way of thinking concerning these things. Maybe the a/c will be Middle-Eastern? You know, I usually dismiss the many dreams and visions on the net that supposedly speak about end-time events, but there are a select few that I just can't dismiss, at least not now. One of these was a vision or dream (?) by a lady named Susan Cummings. She describes a vivid account of a person she identifies as the anti-christ. In the dream/vision she describes a graphic scene where people are beheaded. She says that the person she identifies as the anti-christ had "olive colored skin" (middle-eastern descent-maybe???). If you like, I can try and locate that whole dream/vision and post it here. Although, I don't know if it's still available on her site or elsewhere.

I won't dismiss this possibility either, even though there are a few things that I think don't quite work (biblically speaking) with this position. BUT it actually makes more sense to me considering the beginning of the conflict between Isaac and Ishmael and because of the fact that it's clear that this conflict will continue until the end. Also, most (I think all but one) of the nations in alliance with Gog/Antichrist in Ezekiel 38 are clearly Arabic in nature.

But I'm not really interested in the dream/vision that is on the net. Unless I know the person or have a close friend that knows the person I'm not concerned with dreams and visions. There are so many out there and most seem to be "off."

When it comes to this subject I'm just going to have to keep ironing out the details to see if I can come to a biblical conclusion.

I understand your skepticism towards modern day dreams/prophecies/visions. I've been tracking many of them on the net for the past 5 years and after careful analysis, I discovered that most were bogus. There were so many, who gave specific dates for certain events like terrorist attacks, earthquakes, etc. and nothing materialized as foretold by the individual. Time after time, they repeatedly failed. But, like I said before, there are a few and I stress a "few" contemporary prophecies that have intrigued me. Mostly, because of multiple words saying the same thing. One group or cluster of "words" warns of the coming crash of the American economy and the world. The other group or cluster of "words" speak of the Chinese/Russian invasion of America, which supposedly follows the economic downfall. I'm not saying that I'm 100% convinced by them, but I'll certainly wait and see what actually happens in the future. One more thing, I've told others via e-mail, that they should NEVER equate these contemporary words of prophecy (dreams/visions) with Biblical prophecy. That any so-call modern day prophecy should always echo what scripture already teaches. I've told them that only the Bible is the sure and 100% reliable Word of prophecy.

It sounds to me like you've got the right mindset. And I would agree with those claiming that we will see a great depression. Whether or not it's soon, I don't know, but it certainly could be. But I have absolutely no doubts that in my lifetime we will see very hard times. It seems inevitable when I consider the way things are run, the enemies that desire to crumble our economy, the poor decisions and the screwy views that seem to becoming more and more dominate as time passes. Add all these up, and more, and it will be nothing short of a miracle if it DOESN'T happen. This is one of those issues that I don't need a prophecy for. The quivering of my common sense antennas gives me the answer! :o)

That line is actually in the Quran - no wonder it is posted in the Temple of the Rock - I think it does refer to us joining Jesus with God.

I follow your whole diatribe on the end of times - Muslims playing that role as the political unifying power - just how does this happen again? Wouldn't we all have to be broke in the West in order to give that controlling power over?

Either way, it's all guesswork from a book (revelations) that I am not sure is addressed to us. But if those theories will give your faith substance - so be it - I find their history very suspect (more guesses wrong than right - and when someone is wrong they change their story - ex: Hal Lindsay).

I am not sure this type of eschatology should be the focus of the faithful personally - it deviates into a lot of guesswork and trickery - which I think is a little suspect...couldn't the anti-christ very well come from the Western civilized societies? More likely than not I would think - our countries basically control world politics, economics, we have a religious right now that advocated a narrow position, etc. Bot no one ever think it is their country - oddly enough.

Could it be that the AC is a European Muslim? We had a missionary in church this evening who is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. He has gone into Iraq and met with believers there. It was interesting that he said the gospel is not heard on the radio in Europe. Many of the empty churches in England are becoming mosques. Islam is the fastest growing religion in Europe.

That's interesting societyvs. I wonder if the four have similar comparisons with the previous four.

And Aletheuo, if you want to talk more about this just pm me on Herb's forum.

And I just don't know Katherine. I think there's a lot of things like this that we won't know for sure until it all goes down, but I am going to look a little further into the position that this book puts forth.

I'll toss in my input along with some good resources for further study. I think you're right on looking at al-Mahdi as the antichrist. The symbolism in the first seal of revelation points heavily to Islam. A good book that Richardson would probably agree with is "Islam and Armageddon" by Dr. Michael S. Heiser. On top of that, I think he'll be the long awaited Messiah figure for every world religion, except for the true fiath of course. I think he'll definitely fill the role as al-Mahdi for Muslims, Krishna for Hindus, Matreya for Buddhists and New Agers, Messiah for non-believing Jews, and the second coming of Jesus for Catholics, Mormons, other cultists, and apostate Christians, etc.

Prince Charles is one figure to keep your eye on. He claims descent from King David, Mohammed, and Jesus, and is a huge player in global government and inter-faith movements. "The Anti-Christ and a Cup of Tea" by Tim Cohen is an excellent resource. I'm not saying that Prince Charles is the antichrist, but I wouldn't be surprised. Either way, he's someone to keep a close eye on.

We'll see how it all shakes out, but I think it's good to speculate and put our heads together since a lot of people aren't, and will be caught off-guard as a result. We'll be there hopefully to provide support and be able to explain things and strengthen those who need it. Enjoy!

Thanks for the book recommendation. I’ve heard about the “Antichrist and a Cup of Tea” for quite a few years now, but it has never interested me. But I’m interested in “Islam and Armageddon.” I think I will get it. What about Tim Cohen’s book did you think was good, and why do you think it’s worth reading?

The Roman Empire was divided into two regions,the east and the west. The eastern portion, or the Byzantine Empire, occupied the lands now occupied by Islamic countries. Therefore it is entirely possible that would be the connection between the final beast empire and Byzantine Rome.

lies as usual about Islam1. NO madhi person in Quran2. Jesus in Quran and he isnt madhis sidekick3. Quran says WORSHIP ONLY THE ONE GOD and fight SATAN4. Quran has mot been proved wrong on even one of scienfic facts in it EVER5. Bible has proved wrong on some of its science6. Only one Quran reguardless of muslim sect i.e Sunni or Shia same Quran7. Different versions of bible with different christian sects8. Quarn itself says God protecting it from corruption9. Moses Himself in the bibles says the writers will change it10. NO WHERE IN THE BIBLE DOES JESUS SAY HE IS GOD OR WORSHIP HIM11 Muslims ONLY PRAY TO GOD THE CREATOR, who you think created everything?12. Oldest christian books and study guides call Jesus a Prophet NOT GOD

If you think the world is getting closer to the end and that bad people are in control of the worlds governments, well if thats true then the good people of the world would be getting killed in the thousands and made homeless in the millions... well the people who are being killed and made homeless all over the world right mow ARE MUSLIMS.